Blancpain, founded in 1735 and now owned by The Swatch Group, is renowned for its focus on quality as opposed to quantity. Less than 10,000 watches are made each year, which sounds like a lot until you compare that figure with Rolex's 2,000 watch per day output.

Blancpain's policy dictates that every watch be made by a single watchmaker, and the company has declared it will never make watches with quartz movements and/or digital displays. Instead, Blancpain concentrates their energy and skill on crafting some of the worlds finest mechanical timepieces... and some of the most costly.

Take the Blancpain Caruso “Chinese Dragon” Limited Edition wristwatch for instance, designed especially for 2012, the Year of the Dragon according to Chinese astrology. While the watch's face displays the signature look of the Caruso series, it's the watch's back that stunningly sets it apart.

Indeed, this is one watch owners may prefer to wear back to front as it seems a shame to hide the case's exquisite reverse, which features an engraved Chinese dragon on the 18k rose gold rear case.

According to Blancpain, the Caruso “Chinese Dragon” Limited Edition wristwatch has a 43.5mm diameter case composed of rose gold, a Cal.225 automatic Caruso movement, 262 total parts and a 100-hour power reserve.

The watch's limited edition character is engraved right into the back of the case, numbered from 1 to 50. Can Blancpain sell out the entire 50-watch production run though each watch is priced at a staggering $219,682 each? Only time will tell. (via Jing Daily and Discover Watch)